Ripple is the lone winner among the largest global cryptocurrencies this week after Moneygram International Inc (Nasdaq: MGI) announced it will be partnering with Ripple to help speed up money transfers and lower transaction fees.
Ripple has been one of the most volatile cryptocurrencies in a wild market in recent weeks, but the new partnership is a big step in the right direction toward mainstream acceptance.
[Read: 5 Great Alternatives to Bitcoin.]
Ripple was the only one of the seven largest global cryptocurrencies to see its price rise on Thursday following reports that South Korea may soon ban cryptocurrency trading completely. Investors cheered the Moneygram partnership, sending the price of Ripple up 1.6 percent despite Korea concerns that sent bitcoin and Etherem tumbling more than 7 percent each.
On Friday, Ripple was up another 5 percent. Ripple is now the third largest cryptocurrency in the world, with a market cap of more than $80 billion.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse says Ripple will allow Moneygram users to send money “as quickly as information.”
Moneygram isn’t the first company to recognize the benefits of Ripple. In the past several weeks, a handful of financial services companies in Japan and South Korea have integrated Ripple’s technology into their businesses as well. Ripple has also partnered with American Express Co. ( AXP) and Santander to develop a blockchain-based international payment system.
“This is a big deal for Ripple because the more people that use the cryptocurrency, the more valuable it becomes, placing upward pressure on the price,” says Dean Anastos, founder and CEO of Blockchain Developers.
Ripple has become a popular alternative to bitcoin among traders and institutions because international transactions via Ripple can go through in a matter of seconds.
“Ripple’s unique differentiators lie specifically in its lightning-fast transaction speed, which gives it huge traction over other coins like bitcoin,” Anastos says.
[Read: Bitcoin Bubble Signs Are Everywhere.]
Ripple’s fees are also currently much lower than bitcoin’s.
Patrick Gray, CEO of HashChain Technology, Inc., says the Moneygram deal is another important feather in Ripple’s cap as top cryptocurrencies continue to jostle for dominance on a daily basis.
“Ripple’s unique advantage lies in its speedy transaction time of only two to three seconds, as well as the fact that it is backed by global banks and financial institutions like American Express,” Gray says.
Ripple’s price was up more than 700 percent in the past month.
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Moneygram International Inc (MGI) Deal Gives Ripple a Boost originally appeared on usnews.com
